Continuing with our State of the Union coverage, Dave Jamieson at the Huffington Post writes about one of President Obama’s most important labor initiatives: defining which workers are entitled to overtime pay. The Department of Labor is likely to release revised rules on overtime next month, the result of a year-long revision process, according to the Post.
Air France has announced that it will cut 800 jobs over the next three years, according to the New York Times. The airline will also reduce salaries over the same timeframe. Air France will explain the details of its plan to its works council at a special meeting on February 5th.
Politico reports that mental health workers represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers are asking Kaiser Permanente to return to the bargaining table. According to NPR, 2,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente have been on strike for the past week. The workers ended this strike this past Monday, before requesting more bargaining.
More locally, the New York Times reports that workers at the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market in the Bronx approved a new three-year contract on Wednesday. 97 percent of workers, who are represented by Teamsters local 202, approved the new contract. The new contract would raise wages and would increase the merchant’s contribution to workers’ health plans.
On Wednesday, FedEx announced that the Teamsters lost a “ballot among drivers at a FedEx freight facility” and withdrew another ballot, according to the New York Times. The Teamster’s organizing drive at FedEx’s freight facilities is part of a renewed organizing effort following the Teamster’s first ballot win among FedEx’s freight workers in October. That win came after decades of failed attempts to organize FedEx employees, according to the Times.
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May 9
Philadelphia City Council unanimously passes the POWER Act; thousands of federal worker layoffs at the Department of Interior expected; the University of Oregon student workers union reach a tentative agreement, ending 10-day strike
May 8
Court upholds DOL farmworker protections; Fifth Circuit rejects Amazon appeal; NJTransit navigates negotiations and potential strike.
May 7
U.S. Department of Labor announces termination of mental health and child care benefits for its employees; SEIU pursues challenge of NLRB's 2020 joint employer rule in the D.C. Circuit; Columbia University lays off 180 researchers
May 6
HHS canceled a scheduled bargaining session with the FDA's largest workers union; members of 1199SEIU voted out longtime union president George Gresham in rare leadership upset.
May 5
Unemployment rates for Black women go up under Trump; NLRB argues Amazon lacks standing to challenge captive audience meeting rule; Teamsters use Wilcox's reinstatement orders to argue against injunction.
May 4
In today’s news and commentary, DOL pauses the 2024 gig worker rule, a coalition of unions, cities, and nonprofits sues to stop DOGE, and the Chicago Teachers Union reaches a remarkable deal. On May 1, the Department of Labor announced it would pause enforcement of the Biden Administration’s independent contractor classification rule. Under the January […]